Gold Star Families Thank President Biden for Ending War in Afghanistan

Twenty families, including those who lost a loved one in Afghanistan, write: “No other president had the guts to do it. You did. And so we felt compelled to write to you to say thank you.”

WASHINGTON, DC — In an open letter to President Biden, twenty Gold Star families, who lost loved ones in service to this country, say he made the right choice to end the war. The letter was released by VoteVets.

In the letter, the Gold Star families write, “What you did was courageous, and the single biggest moment of Presidential leadership that we have seen in decades…. Despite extraordinary pressure from the same foreign policy elites, military minds, and talking heads – the so-called “blob” – that kept us at war for two decades, you did not back down. You came through.”

The families conclude by writing, “The time to stop inflicting pain on families for an endless war with no clear, achievable outcome that had no urgent national security interest, was long ago. No other president had the guts to do it. You did. And so we felt compelled to write to you to say thank you.”

The full letter, with signatories, is below.

Dear Mr. President,

As Gold Star Families who lost our loved ones, we know too well the cost of war. We know you understand, as well, because of Beau’s service and exposure to burn pits, in Iraq.

We felt compelled to write to you, to express our gratitude for ending the war in Afghanistan, which tragically added over 2400 families to our ranks – some of whom are signing this letter.

What you did was courageous, and the single biggest moment of Presidential leadership that we have seen in decades. We have seen one president transform our urgent counter-terror mission in Afghanistan, after 9/11, into an endless, unachievable counter-insurgency exercise. We saw subsequent candidates campaign on ending the war, only to shrink and go back on that promise, when elected. Not only did they go back on their promise, they surged more troops into the war.

Despite extraordinary pressure from the same foreign policy elites, military minds, and talking heads – the so-called “blob” – that kept us at war for two decades, you did not back down. You came through. In many ways, re-escalating the war would have been the easier path. You’d have won accolades from that very same blob, and pushed the war in Afghanistan to the back pages of the newspapers, where it was (if it was there at all) for most of the two decades. You didn’t take the easy way out; you withstood their pile-on, and kept your promise to us.

We grieve alongside the families of those servicemembers who were killed in the final days of the war. They died heroes and we would ask all Americans to learn their stories, and remember their names. They join the thousands more who died during that war in 20 years. They will hold a special place for us, because they were killed making sure that no other military families would ever again have to bear the pain of losing someone in the War in Afghanistan.

We also grieve for the families of the over 100,000 Afghan military, police and innocent civilians lost during this war, the families of thousands of contractors lost, the thousands of families of NATO troops killed, hundreds of families of aid workers, and over 70 families of journalists who died there. All of these families do not get nearly enough attention, but their pain is as deep as ours.

The time to stop inflicting pain on families for an endless war with no clear, achievable outcome that had no urgent national security interest, was long ago. No other president had the guts to do it. You did. And so we felt compelled to write to you to say thank you.

Sincerely,

Christina Ayube
Mother of SGT James Ayube, KIA 12/08/10, Afghanistan

Summer Lipford Mickelson
Mother of PFC Steven Frederick Sirko, KIA 4/17/2005, Iraq

Annette Pritchard
Aunt of PFC William Ramirez, KIA 2/11/04, Iraq

Carlos and Mélida Arredondo
Father & StepMom to LCPL Alexander Scott Arredondo, KIA 2004, Iraq

John Fenton
Father of Marine SGT Matthew Fenton, Died from injuries 5/5/2006, Iraq

Fernando Suarez del Solar
Father to LCPL Jesus A. Suarez del Solar, KIA 03/27/2003, Iraq

Stephanie J Fisher
Mother of SSG Thomas K. Fogarty KIA 5/6/2012, Afghanistan

Tracy Miller
Mother of CPL Nicholas Lee Ziolkowski, KIA 11/14/2004, Iraq

Michelle and Steve DeFord
Parents of SGT David W. Johnson, KIA 9/25/2004

Laura Saminy
Sister of PFC Steven Frederick Sirko, KIA 4/17/2005, Iraq

Rinda Pope
Mother of PFC Alex Varela, KIA 5/19/2007, Iraq

Shawn Gregoire
Mother of SPC Michael Isaiah Nance, KIA 7/29/2019, Iraq

Kevin and Joyce Lucey
Parents of LCPL Jeffrey Lucey, Died 6/22/2004

Melinda Hopkins Kane
Mother of LCPL Jeremy Kane, KIA 1/23/2010, Afghanistan

Gilda Carbonara
Mother of SGT Alex Carbonaro, Died Landstuhl, Germany 5/`10/2006, Iraq

Florence Sandra
Sister of 1LT Charles Penn, Jr, Died 5/30/1976, Korea

Sue Niederer
Mother of 1LT Seth Dvorin, KIA 2/3/2004, Iraq

Michelle Baugh
Daughter of SP/4 Richard Earl Githens, KIA 5/29/1968, Vietnam

Vickie Pekarcik Castro
Mother of CPL Jonathan Castro, KIA 12/21/2004, Iraq

Karen Meredith
Mother of 1LT Ken Ballard, KIA 5/30/2004, Iraq